2025-09-07 17:00:56
The Wolfbox MF100 battery-powered air duster produces a stream of air more powerful than a can of pressurized air. I've been using it to blow debris out of keyboards, dust from windowsills, cobwebs out of corners, and dirt lodged in cracks in my backyard wooden stairs. I wear ear protection when using it on the highest setting. It comes with four nozzle attachments and a USB-C charging cable. — MF
Finding a reliable local guide in a far away destination is not easy, but made a bit easier with GetYourGuide.com. This is a clearinghouse for local ebike tours, street food tours, museum tours, and city walking tours around the world. GetYourGuide does not run any of the tours; these are all staffed and run by local entrepreneurs so the quality will vary. But this site and app make hyper local guides easy to find, easy to schedule, and easy to pay. In my own experience, they are reliable and deliver what they promise. — KK
I usually put very little effort into taking photos, but this tip makes me want to snap more—especially of my Chocolate Lab. It makes him look extra handsome. — CD
Turn your phone upside down so the lens is on the bottom.
Set the camera to 2x zoom.
Step back from your subject.
This setup helps create more natural human proportions and reduces facial distortion.
Whether or not you like the music of U2, you should watch the video memoir of its lead singer Bono. The format of Bono: Stories of Surrender, streaming on Apple+, is peculiar. Like an autobiography, this is an auto-documentary, a documentary made by Bono about himself. It begins with spoken-word monologues by Bono, mixes in music, dips in and out of him telling his Irish family story on stage, personal confessions of his own journey, punctuated by lyrics of well-known songs to fill out his biography. It is a performance, but also a record, an oral history. It’s a film version of his mammoth book autobiography, Surrender, but I appreciated this cinematic novella for its innovative approach to a memoir. — KK
This website generates random adjective–noun combinations and then pulls up corresponding Wikipedia and Google results. Some exist as entries, while others don’t because they’re too nonsensical. Either way, it feeds my curiosity and sparks new creativity. — CD
Richard Sharpe Shaver (1907–1975) was a pulp science fiction writer, best known for his articles that ran in Amazing Stories in the 1940s about an evil race of humanoids living beneath the Earth’s surface. Shaver insisted the stories were non-fiction. Later in life, Shaver came to realize that the patterns in rocks were messages written by intelligent beings of antiquity, and he devoted the remainder of his life to sharing his discovery with his small cadre of admirers. Richard Sharpe Shaver: Some Stones Are Ancient Books is a book of Shaver’s “rokfogos” research, complete with photos and typewritten rock-book translations. It was published by a delightful small press called The Further Reading Library. — MF
A shocking amount of your personal data is online — address, phone, even SSN. Incogni finds and removes it, even from obscure sites you point out. Real privacy experts do the work. It's the most thorough tool we’ve found. Get Incogni and clean up your data.
Recomendo Unclassified Ads work! Reach over 121,000 subscribers for just $200.
UNCLASSIFIEDS
Learn how to fly First Class for the price of Economy! Roame is the only tool that helps you find hidden first & business class flight deals for FREE. Search in real-time or set automated alerts.
Declutter your inbox! The Meco newsletter reader app lets you organize and read newsletters in a dedicated space. Connect Gmail/Outlook. Features offline reading, topic grouping, highlights, saved links, and custom themes. Available on iOS, Android, web. Free version with premium features.
Salon-quality hair dryer dries 5x faster than standard dryers while reducing frizz and heat damage. Quiet operation, lightweight design, and smart temperature control for healthier, shinier hair. Magnetic attachments included. Get yours today.
Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Please consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others.
Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.
2025-08-31 17:01:42
Every year, Tim Leffel, who runs our sister newsletter Nomadico (a Recomendo for travel) researches the cheapest places to travel round the world. His 2025 Cheapest Destinations report is brief, but very current. Inexpensive regions can extend how long you travel, or raise the level of quality, or both. Cheaper places also make the most difference if you are attempting to work for a while as a nomad. His survey takes that into account. — KK
This search tool helps you generate playlists based on your favorite music. Just input a song, and it finds similar tracks based on energy, instrumentation, acoustics, and danceability. You can also adjust your preferences. I’ve been discovering artists I never would have found — and songs I instantly love. — CD
This handheld vacuum from HRYCF is a handy helper for small messes. I use it to clean coffee grounds near my espresso station and crumbs on countertops. It offers strong suction and comes with versatile attachments, even converting into an air blower. Its compact design makes it easy to grab. The USB-C rechargeable battery runs for up to 40 minutes. — MF
Martha Stewart, now 82, was the original lifestyle influencer. She built a media empire beginning in the 1970s around herself making stuff, from gardening, baking, to crafts, to home improvement. She was the first woman to become a self-made billionaire. Like many geniuses, she was a bit of a jerk. (I had a chance to interview her mid-career.) What I really like about Martha, the new documentary about her surprising life, is that it reinforces the power of being the only, of being a category of one. Instead of trying to overcome her oddities, her unconventionality, her character weaknesses, she leaned into them hard so that she was unique and had no competition, until she herself was the brand. This later became the goal of many others: “the brand of YOU.” The documentary is extremely well done, a lot of fun because Martha Stewart can’t hide her flaws, and is streaming on Netflix. — KK
This is a useful guide for understanding impulsive behaviors and managing everyday temptations, like snacking and binge-watching. What I find helpful is immediately replacing an urge with a healthier and enjoyable alternative — like swapping doomscrolling for a phone call — and creating roadblocks by deleting apps or moving snacks out of sight. More importantly, the guide emphasizes being kind and gentle with yourself, and reminds us that progress comes from consistency and smart tweaks to your environment. There’s plenty of actionable advice here, but the real shift for me was how it normalizes impulsivity without shaming it. With that acceptance, it becomes easier to better understand myself. — CD
I've known A.J. Jacobs for 20 years and have read all his books, including his accounts of reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, becoming the healthiest person alive, and thanking the 1,000 people involved in his morning coffee routine. His newsletter, "Experimental Living," is a weekly dose of his signature immersive journalism. Each issue blends memoir, humor, science, and practical self-help tips from his latest life experiments. — MF
UNCLASSIFIEDS
9 Hidden Perks of Your Amazon Prime Membership. Are you taking advantage of your Amazon Prime perks? Amazon Prime offers much more than just free shipping! Discover 9 Prime benefits you should be using.
Power up anywhere with Anker's 5-in-1 Nano Travel Adapter! Ultra-compact design 43% smaller than competitors, charges 5 devices simultaneously with 20W fast charging. Universal compatibility for 200+ countries, smart temp control & built-in safety features. Perfect travel companion!
Declutter your inbox! The Meco newsletter reader app lets you organize and read newsletters in a dedicated space. Connect Gmail/Outlook. Features offline reading, topic grouping, highlights, saved links, and custom themes. Available on iOS, Android, web. Free version with premium features.
Salon-quality hair dryer dries 5x faster than standard dryers while reducing frizz and heat damage. Quiet operation, lightweight design, and smart temperature control for healthier, shinier hair. Magnetic attachments included. Get yours today.
Recomendo Unclassified Ads work! Reach over 121,000 subscribers for just $200.
Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Please consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others.
Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.
2025-08-24 17:01:57
Our subscriber base has grown so much since we first started nine years ago, that most of you have missed all our earliest recommendations. The best of these are still valid and useful, so we’re trying out something new — Retro Recomendo. Once every 6 weeks, we’ll send out a throwback issue of evergreen recommendations focused on one theme from the past 9 years.
For 50 years this chart has been hanging on my wall. The Histomap of History is a 5-foot long diagram that visually displays the relative power of ancient nations over the last 4,000 years in 50-year increments. At one glance, this colorful chart gives you the gist of world history. Since it was made in 1950, some of the historical details may be considered old-fashioned now, but this is the chart I use to get a rough idea of our past. Visitors to my studio will usually remark on its ingenious design. Long out of print, you can get a reproduction of a vintage copy for $48. — KK
This fantastic podcast, A History of Rock in 500 Songs, does what it says: it traces the history of rock music in 500 songs. Start with the first episode, which looks at 1939’s “Flying Home” by the Benny Goodman Sextet. The most recent episode, numbered 152, is about 1967’s “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield. New episodes come out about once every two weeks. — MF
I became fascinated with the history of food after experiencing the Last Supper in Pompeii exhibit, where I saw ancient cookware, wine vessels, and preserved foods up close. This food timeline is equally fascinating. Created by a Food History Librarian in 1999, it begins with water and ice and includes transcriptions of ancient recipes. She continues to update it today. — CD
Youtube history is my latest obsession. There’s now a ton of very good history YT channels that tackle history in oblique and idiosyncratic ways. One of my favorite streams is ToldInStone. They tackle the kind of questions I’ve always had, but couldn’t find in books or other programs. Like: how fast was Rome mail? How did the ancients prove their identity? What were their kitchens and bathrooms like? Much further in the past, North02 tackles prehistory. What were humans like 1 million years ago, what kind of life in the Sahara when it was tropically green? And so many more! — KK
TimeMap.org presents a world mapwith a slider bar that starts at 4000 BC and ends at the present day. As you slide through time, you watch empires rise and fall. Any interesting civilization or event you spot can be instantly researched — just click on it and the relevant Wikipedia article appears in a side panel. — MF
OneZoom is an interactive tree of life that lets you zoom in and out to explore connections among 2.2 million living species. It’s a lot to take in, but also fun to explore. I felt small—and grateful—realizing what a tiny branch of life we humans occupy. — CD
UNCLASSIFIEDS
9 Hidden Perks of Your Amazon Prime Membership. Are you taking advantage of your Amazon Prime perks? Whether you’re already a Prime member or considering signing up, here are 9 Prime member benefits you should be using!
Time to start your STEM empire! Own a Brooklyn Robot Foundry franchise and run a business that's both profitable and purposeful. Be your own boss, bring students in your community awesome STEAM enrichment, and build wealth. Your entrepreneurial journey starts here!
"An incredibly moving story." "Stunningly beautiful." The cherry blossom trees have shed their flowers, but seven-year-old Akari wants to glue them back. Find out why in Sakura Petals, Bill Adler's short story about hope and magic.
Obsessed with Japan? So are we. The Japan or Die newsletter has the best travel tips about Japan since the invention of travel tips. Insider info on restaurants, bars, shopping, culture, neighborhoods, places to stay, things to do, and more. Sign up for free!
Recomendo Unclassified Ads work! Reach over 120,000 subscribers for just $200.
Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others. Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.
2025-08-17 17:01:59
I use a standing desk at home, and I miss it when I travel because my body aches from sitting so long. This portable sit-stand laptop desk made by Moft weighs just a hair over two pounds and folds to a 0.5-inch thick rectangle that easily fits into my computer bag. Unfolded, it lifts my laptop 9.75 inches above the table, and is surprisingly stable. The fiberglass and PU leather construction feels premium and durable. Recommended for anyone who spends long hours on their laptop away from home. — MF
Check out the website Wplace. It’s a zany collaborative futuristic art project happening around the world, mostly created by young people. Like its predecessor r/place, Wplace lets people paint a single pixel at a time. But everyone layers the art over Google maps and most folks start with painting over their neighborhood. And like r/place, you can repaint over other art. So in order to make any kind of a picture large requires an incredible amount of coordination and collaboration with others – and any art produced must be fiercely maintained in order to remain. The ambience is true folk art – the lowest common denominator of anime characters, memes, sports brands, political flags, logos, graffiti, and creative patterns. Surprisingly the parts of the globe most densely painted in its first month are not silicon valley but Brazil and Germany. And you may have trouble getting a chance to paint pixels because its servers are overwhelmed. This weird global emergent collab happening feels like a hint of art from the future. — KK
The Daily Grail front page is my news source for all things weird and fringe science—from papers on consciousness studies and paranormal research to new discoveries in neuroscience, quantum physics, and strange archaeological finds. Most briefs come from mainstream, credible outlets, but the curation makes me feel like a kid reading Weekly World News in the checkout line or living inside an episode of The X-Files. Its editorial approach is described as maintaining an appropriate level of skepticism while remaining open to paradigm-shifting ideas. I check it religiously via my Feedly, but daily news items are also posted to Bluesky if you prefer to follow there. — CD
Midjourney TV is a continuous stream of AI-generated short video art, created by the user community with Midjourney’s recently launched video model. The stream is a hypnotic, mind-expanding glimpse into how humans are using creative AI—and into the collective imagination. I’ve been a Midjourney user since day one and still prefer it for creating imagery from dreams and psychedelic therapy visions. — CD
Because I’ve published a lot of books, both by mainstream publishers and in self-published bestsellers, I frequently get asked for advice by wannabe authors. So I have written up Everything I Know About Publishing and Self-Publishing into a blog post and also packaged in a tidy free 16-page PDF. I end with a flow-chart to navigate through the expanding variety of publishing options available today. — KK
StoryTerra is a interactive map that links to over 120,000 books, movies, TV shows, and games with their real-world locations and time periods. You can slide through centuries on the timeline, zoom into cities on the map, and discover what stories took place when and where. — MF
Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Please consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others.
Recomendo Unclassified Ads work! Reach over 120,000 subscribers for just $200.
UNCLASSIFIEDS
Wander: A vacation home, but waaaaaaay better. Wander offers top 1% U.S. vacation homes with five-star luxury and private retreat comfort. Book your 2025 stay now to get $1,000 off.
Aerflo: a portable sparkling water maker! Eco-friendly capsule exchange program saves 50%+ vs single-use. No subscription needed. Fresh capsules delivered when you return empties. Works instantly anywhere. Visit aerflo.co today!
Declutter your inbox! Meco newsletter reader app lets you organize and read newsletters in dedicated space. Connect Gmail/Outlook. Features offline reading, topic grouping, highlights, saved links, custom themes. Available on iOS, Android, web. Free version with premium features.
Your Mac software solution. Setapp! 240+ premium apps, one subscription. Includes productivity, design, maintenance tools. No ads, in-app purchases or extra fees. Mac, iOS, web access. Auto-updates included. Family/team plans available. Recomendo readers can try free for 30 days!
Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.
2025-08-10 17:02:19
I'm not here to shame anyone for scrolling through TikTok. I suggest you give WikiTok a try one night instead. It presents random Wikipedia articles in that familiar endless-scroll format we're addicted to, but replaces dance trends with images of extinct megafauna, weird inventions, and artists I’d never heard of. A recent favorite: Indonesia once issued a postage stamp featuring a fragment of a fossilized Homo erectus skull — the kind of random delight that makes this site worth visiting. — MF
Sometimes a single use tool is the only tool that will work. An endoscope is a long coil of stiff, but not too stiff, wire with a tineeweenie camera and LED light at the end. You snake the wire/camera into crevices, down pipes, behind cabinets, inside engines to find out stuff. There’s usually no other way to see deep inside. Not too long ago endoscopes were extremely expensive, but I bought mine for $21. The business end is about 8mm or a 1/4” thick and the other end of the 5 meter (16ft) wire connects to my phone, which serves as the screen, camera and power source. It comes with a clip-on hook or magnet for retrieving tiny objects. I downloaded its app and this Ennovor Endoscope worked instantly. (Lots of generic versions available.) I used mine to troubleshoot a blocked dishwasher-garbage disposal line. For $21 it was worth stashing it in a drawer for another just-in-case use. — KK
This historical tech tree is now my favorite way to explore history—a searchable timeline of discoveries, inventions, and tools spanning the ages. You can search by field, year, person, or by the name of the “tech”—which, by this website’s definition, is “a piece of knowledge (an idea) that is created intentionally by humans for a practical purpose (not for its own sake) and is implemented in some kind of physical substrate.” Each tech links to a Wiki page, or branches to other techs that it either built upon or led to. You never know where you'll end up—I just learned all about water clocks. I love this navigable visualization of human innovation, and it's inspiring to imagine what lies ahead of us. — CD
I make espressos at least three times a day. The machine, grinder, and knock box are on a wood kitchen counter, and it's getting stained from drips and spills. This Amoami 12"x19" rubber mat keeps my coffee corner clean and tidy. The absorbent material quickly soaks up any spills without letting moisture seep through to the counter. It's low-maintenance — a quick wipe cleans it up. — MF
We switched from a pouring spout for our cooking oil to this dark glass bottle dispenser, which provides more accurate portions and helps preserve the oil’s freshness. The dispenser delivers a precise 1/4 teaspoon, or you can switch to spray mode to lightly coat your pans. I like to use the sprayer when cooking tortillas, because the fine mist of oil makes them crispy. — CD
If you are lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe’s grocery store, my three favorite desserts from there are their Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, their Almond Ring Danish, and their French Apple Tart (seasonal). All three are addictively delicious, and I would rank them better than their equivalents anywhere in the world at any price. — KK
What would you put on a 5”x5” quartz plate with 25,878,012,676 pixels? Full text of your 5,000 favorite novels? Archive of your top 10,000 photos? Ultra-res map of your city with every shrub on every street? We are Gotham Silicon, a new chip fab in NYC. We can make this for you.
Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Please consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others.
Recomendo Unclassified Ads work! Reach over 120,000 subscribers for just $200.
UNCLASSIFIEDS
The Proxy We Wish We Found Sooner. Need US residential proxies that actually work? NinjaProxy is fast, stable, and keeps you off the radar. Great for research, travel, or bypassing site blocks. We're big fans. Use code REC50 for 50% off your first month.
Imagine if Pocket and Spotify Wrapped had a baby. I made an app for myself that takes my bookmarks + notes and sends me a deeply personal recap every Sunday morning, available for 24hrs. Is this interesting? Would you like to try it out?
"Anyone not following Bill Adler is missing a dip into the wonders of short prose." "Great storytelling." Enjoy a short story every other week, emailed to you. Always free, always enthralling, always a treat for the heart and mind. Find out more or subscribe here.
Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.
2025-08-03 17:01:08
For lightweight family-rated summer entertainment, try K-Pop Demon Hunters. It is an animated musical fairytale in the manner of Shrek or Frozen, but with Korean-American characteristics. In this fantasy, the battle is over fans, who are the scarce resource. Catchy K-pop songs score the fast action, which also delivers an emotional payoff. The film streams on Netflix, and is getting a lot of attention. It’s the meme source for this summer. — KK
I got this Workpro Home Tool Kit as a gift for a relative moving into his first apartment. We used it to assemble flat-pack furniture, mount a TV, and install blackout curtains. The 12V cordless drill/driver, bits, wrench, pliers, level, utility knife, hammer, and tape measure handled everything we encountered. I’d add a socket set to round it out, but the kit contains all the essential tools a first-time apartment dweller needs. Everything stores in the included tool bag. — MF
This chart, “A Guide from Pain to Presence”, explores how human expression changes when it is a reaction to past loss, future fear, or present discomfort. It also offers alternative expressions that stem from wholeness and embodiment. For example, personal boundaries may become forms of control or avoidance when motivated by past loss or fear of uncertainty, but when rooted in wholeness, boundaries express a healthy authority based on inner clarity. The language can be a bit jargon-heavy, but I find the framework helpful for shifting from old, anxious patterns to more intentional and grounded action. — CD
My favorite current New Yorker cartoonist is Roz Chast. I love her whimsy, childlike drawing, inventiveness, and silly sweet humor. But she creates more than cartoons. On her Instagram page, she posts weird painted eggs she makes, her marvelous embroidered dreams, her arrangements of Japanese matchboxes, her block prints, her photographs of New York shops at night, and more. It’s the most refreshing definition of being creative. I get inspired every visit. — KK
My old bathroom scale was giving inconsistent measurements, so it was time to get a new one. I wanted something inexpensive, highly rated, with an easy-to-read LED display, and that could sync with my Apple Health app. The Fitindex Smart Scale checked all the boxes. The scale measures up to 400 lbs in 0.2 lb increments and runs on included AAA batteries. — MF
The Analog Life: 50 Ways to Unplug and Feel Human Again offers a great list of practical ways to go old-school and become less screen-centric. I love the advice to use devices that do one thing well, such as an e-reader, record player, or kitchen timer. My crystal radio—tuned to one station and one station only—is one of my favorite and most nostalgia-inducing possessions. All these tips help to reclaim a more intentional, analog way of living—like allowing days to go unaccounted for and enjoying experiences without feeling the need to document them. — CD
Record Heat? Cool Down Instantly! Experience real relief with ECTO Lifestyle's ice-water-cooled chairs and TOPR pads - engineered to fight back against extreme temps. Cools you down to 45°F-Your personal oasis when the heat won’t let up. See the tech. Feel the chill. Visit us now and beat the heat before it beats you.
Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Please consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others.
Recomendo Unclassified Ads work! Reach over 117,000 subscribers for just $200.
UNCLASSIFIEDS
Less mental clutter after meetings. Jamy handles meeting notes, tasks, and email follow-ups, even for phone calls. Works with Slack, Trello and more. Total brain offload.
Yes, you can have it all! Business ownership + Community impact + Personal fulfillment. Own your own Brooklyn Robot Foundry franchise and help kids discover their potential while building your own thriving STEM programs enterprise. Ready to build your legacy?
Aerflo: a portable sparkling water maker! Eco-friendly capsule exchange program saves 50%+ vs single-use. No subscription needed. Fresh capsules delivered when you return empties. Works instantly anywhere. Visit aerflo.co today!
Try Shinzo Tamura sunglasses. Their TALEX lenses are handcrafted in Japan and offer incredible clarity and eye protection. Not just stylish — they're medical-grade protection for your eyes. Get 15% off everything with code RECOMENDO15.
Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.